Human Too

TIffany Oborn miscarried at 19 weeks. She shared her photos of her child (Greyson) to draw attention to the truth about abortion. READ FULL STORY >> LiveActionNews.org

SO WHEN DOES LIFE BEGIN?

Although it may come as a surprise to some people, there is no debate within medical community as to when life begins.1 Life begins at conception.

Dr Jerome Lejeune Professor of Genetics, University of Descartes (pictured)

“After fertilization has taken place a new human being has come into being. [It] is no longer a matter of taste or opinion…it is plain experimental evidence. Each individual has a very neat beginning, at conception.”

SOME MILESTONES OF THE FIRST NINE MONTHS OF LIFE:

Conception:Father’s sperm penetrates mother’s egg cell.

1st day: Cell division begins.

2nd day: Now a ball of hundreds of cells, the new individual burrows into the wall of the womb.

14 days:Mother misses first menstrual period-suppressed by a hormone produced by her baby.

17 days:Blood cells are forming.

18 days:The heart is forming.

19 days:Eyes start to develop.

20 days:Foundations of the brain, spinal cord and entire nervous system are laid.

22 days: The heart begins to beat.

28 days: Forty pairs of muscles are developing along the future spine. Arms and legs are budding.

30 days:From one cell to millions of cells, the embryo has grown 10,000 times. Blood flows in veins (but the child’s blood stream remains separate from the mother’s throughout the pregnancy).

35 days: The pituitary gland is forming in the middle of the brain. Mouth, ears and nose are taking shape.

40 days: The heart’s energy output is already 20 percent of an adult’s.

42 days: Crown – heel length 1.6 cm. The child’s skeleton is formed (in cartilage not yet bone). The brain co-ordinates movements of muscles and organs. Reflex responses have begun. In the boys, the penis is forming. (And the mother misses her second period.)

43 days: Brain waves can be recorded.

45 days:This photograph of a 6 week unborn baby was taken by medical photographer Robert Wolfe at the University of Minnesota, United States, in 1972. He was removed from his mother because of an ectopic pregnancy.

9 weeks:The child will bend his or her fingers around an object placed in the palm. Thumb sucking occurs. Fingernails are forming.

10 weeks: Crown – heel length 7.5 cm. The entire body is sensitive to touch (except for the sides, back and top of the head). The child squints, swallows, puckers up his/her brow and frowns. (See photo below by Suparna Sinha)

11 weeks: The baby urinates. Can make complex facial expressions – even smile. Sudden spurts of activity: rolling from side to side, Extension and then flexion of the back and neck, waving of arms, kicking of legs. Nose and lips completely formed.

12 weeks: Crown – heel length 12 cm (see image below) Activity now vigorous and behaviour shows distinct individuality. The child kicks legs more rigorously, turn feet, curl and fan toes, make a fist, move thumb, bend a wrist, turn the head, open the mouth and press lips tightly together. Hands touch mouth up to 50 times per hour. Breathing is practised – the baby is breathing fluid steadily and continues to do so until birth.

13 weeks: Crown – heel length 15 cm. The face is prettier and facial expressions already resemble those of parents. Signs of finer co-ordination of body and brain: movements are graceful and flowing. Vocal chords are formed (but in the absence of air the baby cannot cry aloud). Sex organs are apparent and sperm or egg cells are present. Most of body is sensitive to touch.

15 weeks:Taste buds are active.

16 weeks: Easily startled by loud noises and even turns away when a bright light is flashed on her mother’s abdomen. Mother first feels her baby’s movements (earlier or later for some).

23 weeks:Babies born at this age have a good chance of surviving. Language acquisition: unborn babies have been learning speech and practicing the fine neuromuscular movements of vocal tract that are used in crying and vocalising after birth. Five and half month old premature infants’ cry-prints found a correspondence to intonations, rhythms, and other speech performance features of their mothers. 2

24 weeks: Sleeping habits appears. To sleep, the child settles into a favourite position. A loud noise, such as a door slamming, will provoke activity. The child also responds to sounds in frequencies too high or too low for adults to hear. By now the eyelids reopen and the baby exhibits a blink-startle response.

40 weeks:Labour begins (triggered by the child) and birth occurs, usually 255-275 days after conception. Of the 45 generations of cell divisions between conception and adulthood, 41 have taken place. The remaining four will occur during the rest of childhood and adolescence.

References:1 From testimonies given to Senate Judiciary Committee S-158, 97th Congress, 1st Session 1981, p 72 David Chamberlain: The Mind of Your New Born Baby, North Atlantic Books, 1998.